Microsoft has announced the first batch of games that will be available at no extra cost as part of an Xbox Game Pass subscription this February.
Leading the way is Madden NFL 24, which will be available to those with EA Play membership – ie. Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers – just in time for Super Bowl LVIII. It'll be downloadable or available to stream through Xbox Cloud Gaming tomorrow, Thursday 8 February 2024.
However, for us, the biggest game to hit Game Pass in the coming days is the Resident Evil 3 remake.
Originally released in 2020 for Xbox One, then again for Xbox Series X/S in the summer of 2022, the game was remade using Capcom's latest RE Engine, so features greatly improved graphics. It also has several gameplay tweaks and a more cohesive story than 1999's RE3: Nemesis.
Indeed, on Xbox it has received 84% on Metacritic to date, mainly thanks to its refocused single-player campaign. And soon you'll be able to find out for yourself, as it'll hit Game Pass on 13 February.
Other games coming to Xbox Game Pass in the coming weeks include Train Sim World 4, which is available now. We interviewed the developer, Dovetail Games, during Gamescom last year and there's so much that's been added to the latest outing that it's very much worth checking out.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night returns to Game Pass on Valentine's Day. while A Little To The Left and PlateUp! both arrive a day later, on 15 February.
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Finally, first-person narrative adventure Return to Grace will be available across formats on 20 February.
How much does Xbox Game Pass cost?
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs £12.99 / $16.99 per month (after an initial 1-month trial for £1). It includes access to the vast library of original Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S games, plus EA Play, Xbox Cloud Gaming, PC Game Pass, and exclusive offers on the store. You also need a Game Pass subscription to play most games online (ie. multiplayer).
There is also an Xbox Game Pass Core subscription that costs £6.99 / $9.99 per month, which also unlocks online play but only gives you access to a library of around 25 games.
A final tier, Xbox Game Pass Console, costs £8.99 / $10.99 per month and gives you access to the entire library of Xbox games to download and play, but does not include Xbox Cloud Gaming nor online play.
Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.
Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.
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